Mike McClenahan

Friday Amy and I rode our bikes to Del Mar, then walked on the beach. The sky was clear, the tide was out, and people were walking along as if it were the fourth of July.  As we walked we saw our long shadows on the sand. As if were on stilts, our images were stretched in front of us. It's a great picture of Christmas time: sometimes we are stretched too thin, not enough of us to go around. But our worship celebrations were awesome; worship band, children's choirs, candle readers, chancel choir, carol singing, and messages in song and word of Jesus' birth. I love this time of year. It's worth the effort to provide a time of celebration for the church family, their friends and family and our community.  It's also a great picture of the New Year: thinking of how our lives reach into 2012, anticipating the birth of our grandchild, having two married sons, continuing to grow and experience ministry and life here in Solana Beach.  This prayer from Northumbr

Advent is a time of watching and waiting. Paying attention and being patient help us to see the beauty of a moment that otherwise would have been missed. Yesterday Amy and I walked on the beach and saw a dark, stormy sky. As we walked the sky changed: just a hint of color below the clouds, a flicker of light on the horizon, then a fiery ball, and then a full blown firestorm of light. We stood there amazed along with others along the beach. If Advent is a time of watching and waiting, what might we see if we stop and look? If we pay attention to what God was doing in the midst of our ordinary walking, celebrating, decorating, or worshipping during the season? Below is a prayer that asks for God's blessing as we watch and wait for the coming of Jesus, the light of the world.  -- God of the watching ones, give us your benediction. God of the waiting ones, give us Your good word for our souls. God of the watching ones,  the waiting ones, the slow and suf